At one time I was living on Cape Cod with a couple of college friends for the summer. We were having such a great time together that we decided to stay a bit longer. Living on Cape Cod can be wonderful in the wintertime. The beaches are empty and many of the restaurants and shops are closed; it might not be swimsuit weather, but the tourists are gone and you can take long walks on the beach without tripping over a sleeping sunburned body. Also there isn’t any traffic.

Being students we were living on a shoestring budget. We all took turns cooking dinner and at one point I decided to roast a turkey. After stuffing the bird, I rubbed it with butter, salt and pepper, and slid it into a brown paper bag. I then tied the end of the bag with kitchen twine and placed it in a roasting pan and then in to the oven. Roasted turkey takes a few hours and the idea behind the bag was that it would keep the meat moist.  I set the timer and left the room. After about an hour, I came back to check on the turkey, the kitchen was filled with smoke, I tore open the oven door, yanked out the oven rack and where the rack stopped, the roasting pan continued… to slide. The turkey rolled on to the carpet, and the brown paper bag was in flames. As I lifted the turkey up, parts of the burnt bag stuck to the carpet. I put the bird back in the pan, closed the oven door and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to clean the burnt carpet. 

I realized later that the reason that the bag caught on fire was that the oven was small and the bag was touching the electric elements at the top of the oven. Not something I even considered at the time but a lesson learned. The recipe for this not stuffed turkey but stuffed chicken thighs. You will not have to put it in a bag so don’t worry about it burning your carpet. 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. of boneless skinless chicken thighs (4 or 5 thighs)

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• 2 eggs (beaten)

• ½-1 cup panko breadcrumbs

• ¼ cup of feta spread (recipe below)

• toothpicks

Preheat oven to 350°

Instructions:

Put the chicken thighs between two sheets of plastic wrap, wax paper, or parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, pound the thighs so that each thigh is an even thickness

Place a tablespoon of feta spread in the middle of each thigh. Starting from the bottom, fold the thigh in half (making a kind of pocket for the feta). Tuck any loose ends into the pocket. Secure each thigh with three toothpicks. If the thighs are small break a toothpick in half and, holding the thigh with one hand, push each half into the top of the thigh, securing the thigh closed. Do the same on both sides

Feta Spread: (makes 1 cup)

• ½ cup feta

• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt

• 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes

• 2 tablespoons kalamata olives (about 8)

• 2 tablespoons green olives (3 large)

• 1 tablespoon capers, drained

• lemon zest from ½ lemon (optional)

• 2 sprigs of flat leaf parsley

Instructions:

• In a food processor add tomatoes, olives, capers, parsley, and zest (if using). Pulse until finely chopped. Add yogurt and feta and pulse until almost smooth. It is fine to have some small lumps of feta.

• This spread is also great on its own with bread, crackers, raw vegetables, or spread on a sandwich.

• Will keep in the fridge for a week to 10 days.